


I Felt The Chill Before Winter Came

by ProfessorDumbleBrows



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-03
Packaged: 2018-03-04 22:04:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3092462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProfessorDumbleBrows/pseuds/ProfessorDumbleBrows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin invited Rei, Haruka, and Makoto to go to a ski resort with him for good old fashion winter fun. But things go wrong when Rei skis off the course. The guys are left to look for him. However, after Rin finds him, sparks fly in directions they didn't expect to go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Felt The Chill Before Winter Came

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the lovely Fallen-Lucifiel on Tumblr.com.  
> ((Go check out her fan art, it's amazing~!))

“Are you guys ready?” Rin asked as he awkwardly shifted over to the beginning of the slope.

Makoto, Haruka, and Rei trailed behind him, Makoto and Rei shifting with their skis and Haruka hopping over to the far end of the slope with his snowboard. Rin narrowed his eyes at Haruka but shrugged it off as he grinned at the other two males next to him.

“Are you sure this is safe, Rin?” Makoto asked, looking warily at the slope before them.

“I’ve done this almost every winter since I was young. I can promise you that it’s safe if you know what you’re doing.”

Makoto’s wary look remained on his face, but he shrugged it off and moved his goggles over his eyes. Rei, on the other hand, took a few steps back for he was uncertain of the end result of him going down the slope. Rin noticed, and he immediately began hopping over to him so he could grab his arm.

“Oi, where do you think you’re going?” Rin asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Rei gulped and smiled, “Nowhere. What made you think I was going somewhere, Rin-san?” He laughed nervously.

“Hmph… You’re not backing down now, are you?”

“Of course not! I just…” Rei paused to think of an excuse, a reason for why he would be shying away from the rather dangerous-looking slope of snow and ramps.

“Come on, this isn’t even the worst one they have here,” Rin said, thinking it would at least make Rei more comfortable with the thought of moving.

Rei opened his mouth to speak but was suddenly cut off by a whiny voice exclaiming, “Haru, wait!”

The two butterfly swimmers turned their attention to look at where Makoto was standing and saw that Haruka had begun going down the slope. With a quick, “I’m going after him, see you at the bottom.” Makoto pushed himself to begin skiing down the ramp after his childhood friend.

Rin sighed in frustration. Couldn’t Haru ever be patient for once? He was planning on kicking his ass on the slope, and he just had to go on without him… Shaking his head, Rin tightened his grip on Rei’s arm and began shifting back to his place by the top of the slope. A series of uncompleted phrases escaped the bespectacled teen’s mouth but was obviously ignored.

“Now, why don’t you want to go down this slope?”

“I never said I didn’t want to go down the slope--”

“You didn’t seem too excited to go down.”

“Neither did Makoto-senpai--”

“That’s how Makoto is.”

“Rin-san--”

“Rei, just go down the slope.”

“I will.”

Both males became silent. Rin looked at Rei and Rei looked at the slope. He pressed his lips in a straight line and took a deep breath, not bothering to make a move.

“Well?”

“I’m going.”

“I don’t see you moving.”

“I’m mentally preparing myself. This is a first time experience, and thus I must make sure I am prepared both physically and mentally.”

Rin raised an eyebrow, staring for a few more seconds before clicking his tongue. “Whatever. I’ll see you at the bottom when you finally decide to move.” With that said, he pressed his goggles, snapped the elastic of said goggles, and hopped off the slanted edge to begin sliding down the snow on his snowboard.

Rei watched as the red head slid down the slope. Knees bent and body leaning left and right to change directions and keep balanced. It seemed simple… But Rei was still unsure if he could do it. Sighing, he scoots over to the edge. He takes a few seconds to make sure his feet are properly strapped in and his goggles are secured. Gripping his ski poles tightly, Rei pushed himself to begin sliding down the slope.

A gasp escaped his mouth at the sudden rush that ran through him, and he tried his best to keep balanced as he swayed from left to right on the skis. It wasn’t so bad after all, he figured.

At the bottom of the slope, Rin skidded to a halt by his two childhood friends. Makoto was busy scolding Haru, and Haru was busy looking at the slope from where Rin came.

“Come on, Makoto. We’re here to have fun!” Rin said with a grin as he moved his goggles to rest on his forehead.

“I know… But--”

“No but’s. Have fun, okay?”

Before Makoto could respond with his meek ‘okay’, Haruka interrupted. “Where’s Rei?”

“Huh? Eh, he was still at the top of the slope by the time I started going down.” Rin responded, turning around to see if he could spot him out of all the skiers. Squinting, it only took a short time before he was able to point him out. “There, see? On the left.”

“He’s doing great!” Makoto commented.

“He’s off.” Haruka said, causing Rin and Makoto to look at him inquisitively.

“What do you mean? He’s doing just fine.” Rin said

“No. Look. He’s leaning too much and he’s too close to the side. There’s…” He paused and Makoto continued for him.

“There’s an opening, and if he leans too much toward it…”

“Crap! Why is that spot even open?! Let’s just hope he isn’t stupid enough to lean toward it.”

Rin frowned as he watched Rei ski down the hill. He was doing fine, yes, but Makoto and Haruka were right. Relief washed over the three as they watched him begin to lean away from the opening, but sudden panic came immediately after.

As Rei was leaning away, a group of children racing down the slope went right by him. One bumped into him, causing him to lose his balance and lean in the other direction. He didn’t have enough time to change his course and went right into the opening of the slope.

“Rei!” The three boys exclaimed. They quickly began unstrapping themselves from their gear.

“Where are we going to put these?!” Makoto asked, referring to the skis and snowboards.

“Uh-- Just take them all to the booth.” Rin said before turning his attention to Haruka. “Haru, come with me. Let’s get a headstart.”

Haruka nodded and the two began running toward where they believed Rei slid off to. Makoto, on the other hand, ran in the opposite direction to return the gear before joining them in their search. Going into the forest, they decided to split up and call each other if they found him. Rin was hesitant at first, but he saw the determination in Haruka’s eyes.

Time passed and Rin traveled through the forest. He climbed over surfaced roots and tried not to slip on the snow that had hardened into ice. Every now and then, he called out Rei’s name, but no response. He pulled out his phone to check the time, grateful it was still early in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Rei was struggling with walking. He had sprained his ankle upon his landing and was now using the ski poles to keep him steady. The skis themselves have been left behind, Rei figuring there was no way he was going to be able to carry them around and balance himself at the same time.

He mumbled to himself, asking ‘why does this always happen to me?’. He had always seemed to have a bad habit of attracting misfortune. A sigh escaped the teen’s mouth, and he frowned as he hopped around. “I should have never joined Rin-san and the others… I probably just caused them problems now.”

“Rei?!” A voice called out in the distance.

“Not only have I hurt myself, but I am now hearing voices.” Rei shook his head.

“Rei?! Where are you?!” The voice called out, closer this time.

“And now the voice sounds like Rin-san. A reminder as to how much trouble I have caused him thus far.”

“Rei, I’m right behind you.” Rin said, voice laced with annoyance.

Rei jumped at hearing the voice right behind him. He turned his head quickly and stared at the male with wide eyes. “Rin-san?!”

“Tsk, I’m glad I finally found you.” He said. He was ready to say something else but instead he furrowed his eyebrows. “What happened to your skis?”

“I… couldn’t carry them.”

“How come?”

“I may have sprained my ankle, leaving me with no choice but to support my weight with the ski poles alone.”

Rin blinked. “What…?” He shook his head and stepped over to Rei’s side. “Come here…” He mumbled, bringing one of Rei’s arm over his shoulder to support him.

“You really don’t have to--” Rei began, quickly moving one pole to the other hand.

“Shut up. I’m not going to let you walk the way back by just using those damn poles.”

Rei stood silent, unsure how to respond. He knew he would only start an argument if he went against Rin. A small frown came across his lips, and he began limping as soon as Rin began moving. The two stood silent as they traveled through the snow, both still feeling shaken up by the whole ordeal.

A few minutes passed and Rin stopped walking, forcing Rei to stop as well. The red head groaned.

"Are we going in circles?!" He questioned to no one in particular.

"I don't believe so. I also don't think we can really escape from here unless we go up that slope over there."

"Rei, I'm not making you walk up that in your condition."

"I'm fine, I can walk up it."

Rin narrowed his eyes at him. He said nothing, but Rei began to crack under the pressure of his bluff standing out.

"Okay, okay!" He said, turning his head away to avoid looking into his friend's eyes.

"Let's just—" Rin started but was cut off. He looked up and blinked, watching as snowflakes began to fall. There was a chance that a snow storm was supposed to come, but Rin could have sworn the weather report said it was a low chance. "Let's keep walking."

Another lap around did not help them at all. Rin grew irritated and Rei became weary from the strain of balancing and dragging his weight. Along the way, more snowflakes fell. It was exactly a storm, but it wasn't a small flurry either.

"Rin-san, we should find somewhere to shelter ourselves from the snow before it gets too bad."

Ready to say no, Rin suddenly remembered that they might not have much of a choice at that point. "Yeah, we should. I think I saw some kind of opening a few feet ahead."

With that, they made their way to the opening Rin saw. Approaching it, it seemed to had been a small cave. It had a wide opening but was not too deep in. Rin made sure Rei went in first, carefully helping him to sit down. He walked in himself and sat down next to Rei, watching as the snow picked up outside after.

Rin shifted and took out his phone from his pocket. He was ready to call Haruka but saw there was no service. "Are you kidding me...? Looks like we're gonna have to wait it out for now."

"Rin-san, I am so sorry." Rei suddenly apologized.

"Eh, for what?"

"For causing so much trouble for you, Haruka-senpai, and Makoto-senpai today."

The red head stood silent for a moment. Shaking his head, he gave Rei a small shove with his shoulder. "Don't be. It happens. It's just unfortunate that it happened to you."

"I'm still sorry." Rei frowned.

Sighing, Rin responded, "Since you won't stop apologizing, I'll just have to say 'I accept your apology'."

"Thank you."

Silence filled the space between them for a moment longer. Rin would check his phone every now and then but soon gave up. It wasn't long before they picked up idle conversation with each other, asking questions and exchanging stories to find out more and entertain. Time passed by much quicker after, and they didn't take notice until the shift in temperature finally came to their attention.

"...and that's how I got these teeth." Rin said with a smirk.

"Amazing! Didn't it hurt?"

"Nah. It was surprisingly quick too."

"I see..." Rei mused for a second before he wrapped his arms around himself. Rin tilted his head in curiosity.

"Are you getting cold now?" He asked.

"Just a little. It's no problem."

Without another word, Rin slipped his arm around him from behind. He shifted closer and used his hand to rub at Rei's arm. "Don't say it's not a problem." Rin kept close, waiting for their body heat to raise from the shared heat.

Rei snuggled up to him in an attempt to keep close himself. "I really cannot thank you enough."

"Don't mention it. It's what friends do. Save lives, share body heat in freezing temperatures."

Rei shook his head and Rin chuckled. The sound soon faded and they were left with silence again. Rin inhaled deeply and exhaled softly.

"I hope they come by soon."

"They should."

The air around them began to change. It felt as if there was more tension than earlier before. Words that are being left out, thoughts that are being concealed. As Rei thought about what he wanted to say, he felt his heart ram against his rib cage. However, much to his misfortune, he was close enough to Rin that he could feel it — though very light.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

"Fine!" Rei immediately responded, earning a suspicious look from Rin.

"Rei..."

"I've been thinking."

"And?"

"That's all."

Another suspicious stare and Rei cracked.

"I've been think about a few things. One of those things being... My feelings toward you, Rin-san."

"Your feelings...?"

"I have come to a conclusion that, for a while, I have had feelings of affections toward you. I thought it was just admiration, but it was far beyond that."

Rin stood silent for a moment. He stared at Rei with a blank expression.

"Rin-sa—"

"Are you trying to say that you like me?"

"...In simple terms, yes." Rei confirmed bashfully, bringing a hand up to adjust his glasses.

"Well it's a good thing you confessed first. I wasn't sure how I was going to tell you."

"Eh?!" The blue haired male looked at Rin with a shocked expression, and Rin grinned in return.

"Yes, Rei, I like you too."

Incoherent sounds escaped from Rei as he tried to understand what just happened. Ever since he came to grips with his emotions, he had always thought he would have been rejected. For Rin to accept and return his feelings, he was too surprised.

"I also wanted to ask if—" Rei began, but was cut off by the sound of his name.

"Rei?!" A voice called out in the distance.

"Rin?!" Another voice called out.

"Makoto?" "Haruka-senpai?" Rin and Rei said simultaneously.

"Wait here." Rin took his arm away from Rei and got up. He walked over to the opening of the cave and looked around. In the distance, he saw two figures aimlessly walking around.

"Oi! Makoto, Haru!" Rin called out, watching as the two turned around. Haruka began walking in his direction while Makoto was making some gesture off to the side. A few more people came and followed in his track.

"Did you find Rei?" Haruka asked.

Rin nodded and tilted his head to the side as a way of saying he was inside. Haruka walked passed Rin to step into the cave and Rin followed. Deciding to save the chatting for later, Haruka and Rin helped Rei get back up to his feet and allowed him to lean on them as they walk outside again. There, the few people on the resort’s search team came over and replaced the teens.

~ * ~

Evening rolled around and the guys were settled in their hotel room. Makoto and Haru were getting ready to leave as Rei and Rin sat on the couch. Rei’s ankle was wrapped and propped on a pillow on top of the coffee table -- much to his displeasure.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come, Rin?” Makoto asked, pulling his hoodie over his head.

“If I join you guys, then Rei would be alone.” Rin responded, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Which it was.

“Come on, Makoto.” Haruka said, opening the door for he was eager to check out the hotel’s swimming pool.

“Wait up, Haru.” The brunet responded with a sigh. “We’ll see you later. Call if anything, okay?” He said before rushing out the door to follow his friend.

“Will do!” Rin called out, chuckling after the two left. “They never really changed much over the years.” He mused to himself.

Rei looked at the door before turning his attention to the red head. “...Rin-san?”

Ceasing his chuckling, Rin blinked and looked at Rei. “Hmm? Yeah?”

Hesitating, Rei looked to his lap. “Again, I would like to apologize.”

“I already said you di--”

“And I would like to thank you.”

“For…?”

“For helping me.”

“...It’s what friends would do.”

Another pause in hesitation from Rei. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath before speaking again. “Back when we were in the cave and, er, said those things… I wanted to ask you something.”

“Rei, you’re acting a little strange. What’s up?”

“Rin-san… I wanted to ask you if…” Rei began, but mumbled the rest of his sentence.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear that.” Rin said, leaning closer.

Rei felt his face warm up and he shifted a bit. “I wanted to ask… If I may kiss you…”

Rin’s eyes widened. Now it was his face which began to warm up. He began stuttering incompleted words, causing it to sound like gibberish instead. He forced himself to calm down, looking away as he brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck the way he does whenever he’s shy or nervous.

“You… Want to kiss me?”

“Yes.”

“...Right now?”

“Yes.”

“...On the lips…?”

“Rin-san. It took a lot of courage for me to ask you. Please, can we just… get this over with?” Rei said, frowning a bit at the wasted time. He felt his stomach turn with anticipation, ready for both rejection or acceptance of his request.

“Right, right. Sorry.” Rin mumbled. “You can.” He said, finally granting permission. He waited a second, expecting Rei to move closer. But then it occurred to him that Rei wouldn’t be able to move from his seat much due to his propped leg. And thus, he shifted closer until he was right next to him on the couch.

Rei took a deep breath before making an attempt to at least turn his upper body. He began to tilt his head and lean closer. Rin, following his lead, also tilted his head and leaned in the rest of the way. They closed their eyes and their lips brushed against each others’. Rei was ready to move back when Rin suddenly pressed his lips fully against his.

Heat rushing through his body and adrenaline pumping through his veins, Rei suddenly felt excited. He eagerly returned the pressure given, and they broke the kiss after a few seconds. Looking at each other, they both noticed how their pupils were dilated from the moment they shared.

“...Rin-san.”

“Rin.”

“What?” Rei asked, suddenly baffled.

The other male laughed softly at his reaction, his breath ghosting over Rei’s lips for their faces were still close to one another.

“You can stop using ‘-san’. Call me Rin.”

Rei gulped. “...Okay then. Rin.”

Rin smiled and gave his lips a peck. “I hope you know what this means.”

“Hmm…?”

“I’m claiming you as my boyfriend now.”

“As your… what?”

“Boyfriend. You know. The masculine term used for a male in a relationship.”

Rei blinked and then began laughing. He moved his head to the side, covering his mouth to conceal the sound as much as possible.

“Oi! What are you laughing at?!” Rin asked, narrowing his eyes at him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He apologized, quickly calming down and looking at the other once more. “If you are going to claim me as your boyfriend, you should at least use your manners and ask.”

“Tsk.” Rin rolled his eyes. Using a sarcastic tone, he asked, “Rei, will you be my boyfriend?”

“I’ll think about it.” The megane responded quickly.

Rin’s jaw dropped, causing Rei to laugh again.

“Yes, I will be your boyfriend.”

“Hmph!”

“Have I upset you now?”

“You have.”

“Shall I make it up to you?”

“Yes.”

“Well, how would you like me to make it up to you?”

Rin thought for a second before smirking. “Oh, there’s a thing or two you can do…” He said, quickly leaning over to capture Rei’s lips again. Rei’s eyes widened at the sudden kiss but he easily melted into it. And thus, they spent their time wisely while they were alone in each others’ company.

**Author's Note:**

> They fell asleep on the couch while watching movies. That's how their evening went.  
> This was the first RinRei fic that I ever wrote. I hope you all enjoyed reading it!


End file.
